~ Thinking outside the box about Cambodia

Category Archives: History

As Cambodia has already started to be dominated, vassalized or colonized by China, it would be important that your students should be aware of the unsaid, unexplained or unrevealed Chinese thinking that could help them when coming face to face with the invaders or colonizers. To learn to understand the Chinese is the only way that would enable them to deal vigorously and intelligently with the Chinese that had studied and understood Khmer attitude and thinking long, long time ago.

The Chinese are using the tricks that their ancestors had taught them since time memorial, and every Chinese from high school up knows them by heart, thinks, reasons and behaves accordingly, both in planning and negotiating, and in critical moments.

The present era is that the Chinese have put in actual application what they have learnt all along; they do it to the world, and by extension to Cambodia with the help of US trade deficit and US largess on sciences and technology since the historical Richard Nixon’s visit in 1972.

The fundamental ideas are contained in a very ancient and classic text called “The Thirty-Six Stratagems” (三十六计) that illustrated a series of stratagems used in politics, war, and in civil interaction.

Kacvey, you can argue that since the essay is available in every book store, why making such a big deal? You have indeed a very valid point, but the issue is not about availability of the material, but the knowledge that the material is important and should be studied. A book that is open but unread doe not make the person holding it knowledgeable.

Below is the list of stratagems contained in the 6 Chapters of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, and the basis of that, your students could begin to study further and deeper their meaning under different forms, situations or circumstances, bearing in mind that the value is not in the literal meaning of each Chinese character or their combination into phrase or idiom, it rather is in the figurative meaning that is hidden in the pictograph of the Chinese language.

Chapter 1: Winning Stratagems 胜战计

Deceive the heavens to cross the ocean 瞒天过海

Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao 围魏救赵

Kill with a borrowed sword 借刀杀人

Wait at leisure while the enemy labors 以逸待劳

Loot a burning house 趁火打劫

Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west 声东击西

Chapter 2: Enemy Dealing Stratagems 敌战计

Create something from nothing 无中生有

Openly repair the gallery roads, but sneak through the passage of Chencang 明修栈道,暗度陈仓

Watch the fires burning across the river 隔岸观火

Hide a knife behind a smile 笑里藏刀

Sacrifice the plum tree to preserve the peach tree 李代桃僵

Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat 顺手牵羊

Chapter 3: Attacking Stratagems 攻战计

Stomp the grass to scare the snake 打草惊蛇

Borrow a corpse to resurrect the soul 借尸还魂

Entice the tiger to leave its mountain lair 调虎离山

In order to capture, one must let loose 欲擒故纵

Tossing out a brick to get a jade gem 抛砖引玉

Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief 擒贼擒王

Chapter 4: Chaos Stratagems 混战计

Remove the firewood from under the pot 釜底抽薪

Disturb the water and catch a fish 浑水摸鱼

Slough off the cicada’s golden shell 金蝉脱壳

Shut the door to catch the thief 关门捉贼

Befriend a distant state while attacking a neighbor 远交近攻

Obtain safe passage to conquer the State of Guo 假道伐虢

Chapter 5: Proximate Stratagems 並战计

Replace the beams with rotten timbers 偷梁换柱

Point at the mulberry tree while cursing the locust tree 指桑骂槐

Feign madness but keep your balance 假痴不癫

Remove the ladder when the enemy has ascended to the roof 上屋抽梯

Deck the tree with false blossoms 树上开花

Make the host and the guest exchange roles 反客为主

Chapter 6: Desperate Stratagems 败战计

The beauty trap (Honeypot) 美人计

The empty fort strategy 空城计

Let the enemy’s own spy sow discord in the enemy camp 反间计

Inflict injury on oneself to win the enemy’s trust 苦肉计

Chain stratagems 连环计

If all else fails, retreat 走为上计

Your students should also be knowledgeable about the Chinese concept of “Tianxia” 天下 (or “All Under the Heaven”) that could be found comprehensively explained in the book “RENEWAL – The Chinese State and the New Global History” by Wang Gungwu 王賡武, a historian and professor.

Kacvey, please also warn your students that learning the above essay is like scooping up a bucket of water from the ocean of Chinese history and thinking, but like Laozi said in Chapter 64 of Dao De Jing 道德经: “A journey of a thousand leagues starts from where your feet stand”, 千里之行，始於足下.

Please tell us how glorious were the fireworks at the VI..N..-VI..N.. Monument on the eve of the New Year, if there were any? A usual monologue speech filled with indignant and incongruous verbiage was however delivered by the weak strongman to a scattered applause from his sycophants.

Do you have a chance to pass by that useless and grotesque piece of white cement days after its inauguration to see how it stands in shame and distaste in the middle of a dictatorial socio-political landscape designed for the weak strongman’s vanity and arrogance?

Please update when you have a chance. Thanks.

The subject of today’s letter for you and your students to discuss and analyze is about what the weak strongman had lately and publicly expressed with slight, disdain and disrespect against of royal family and that could be characterized as a possible crime of lèse majesté.

As far as Khmer history is concerned, and for whatever reason one wished to formulate, the kingdom of the Khmer never had any law against lèse majesté. The worst that happened was the abolition of the monarchy by the Lon Nol regime and that abolition was maintained not only under the genocidal Khmer Rouge Pol Pot regime but also under the Vietnamese-supported regime of the current weak strongman when he returned to Cambodia from Vietnam on 7 January 19179 until the UNTAC election in May 1993. The monarchy was restored after the completion of the election with the coronation of Sihanouk.

In its Khmer language article dated 21 December 2018, Radio Free Asia reported about staff management issue in the CNC television and the pressure that the weak strongman exercised upon the CNC leadership to revert a decision involving the firing of a staff member believed to be one of his relatives; the weak strongman made it clear that “ជាមួយ​ខ្ញុំ​កុំ​និយាយ​ឲ្យ​សោះ​ឪ​ស្តេច​ម៉ែ​ស្តេច ក៏​ខ្ញុំ​ដាក់​ដែរ”. In its English version, Radio Free Asia reported that: “well I’m not even afraid of the queen and the king’s father!”

Kacvey, you and your students would certainly be of the opinion that the English translated of the weak strongman’s words from Khmer are much more mild, polite and uncompromising, but the Khmer words are plain insolence, disrespect and contempt towards the king’s father and mother. On 30 December 2018, Radio Free Asia followed it up with a Khmer language article with opinions from different commentators that you and your students can fully appraise and appreciate.

For our part, let just ask the questions:

Why the weak strongman needed to refer to “the queen and the king’s father” in his argument in such a withering and disparaging manner?

What’s behind his motive?

Is there a dark scheme brewing or germinating inside his mind and future plan? Fujian versus or to replace Corsica?

Has he forgotten that there is a law of “his” on lèse majesté?

As the whole world knows that he rules Srok Khmer and all Khmer laws are nothing else but his toilet papers, would he infer that the law on lèse majesté is not different from other laws as far as he is concerned?

Is he testing the strength of the monarchic institution?

Is he measuring the tape between “sdach” and “samdach”?

What would the king himself think about the whole enchilada?

Does he truly feel offended or insulted by his subjects in question?

Has he ever been invited to testify at the court proceedings?

Qui tacet consentire videtur?

The weak strongman must surely have read and learned a lot about Chinese history, especially during the period of The Warring States, how Chinese dynasties were created, and how Chinese and foreigners became emperors.

Well, all first emperors of all Chinese dynasties were all common people, and warriors.

Are you ready to take a little break during the Year-End festivities or are you still caught up in the big mess – Repeat: BIG MESS! – in the City of Tonlé Buon Mouk?

What BIG MESS?

Oh, guess you don’t see it because either you’re like the nose being to close to the eyes so the latter can’t see or you live in the middle of the City of Tonlé Buon Mouk that you become so immune to the chaos in both political streets and real streets around Phsar Thméy, Phsar Olympic, Phsar Toul Toumpong etc …

Please elaborate!

Oh, It’s easy:
1) The weak strongman trips to New York, Brussels and Geneva turned out to be useless as no one paid attention to him or to what he was saying about EBA. On the way back home, he had a state dinner in Turkey but nobody cared or talked about him.
2) Then, he was off to Singapore and Port Moresby where he was quiet like a mouse in a rat hole;
3) Then, he was off again to Kathmandu just to show to his sycophants that he has done something on his own. Wondering why he didn’t ask Nepal to provide aid and assistance to escalate Mount Everest?
4)Then, off again to Vientiane to get a lesson on how 30 Lao soldiers could occupy a swath of land in Stung Trèng without any resistance from his border troops. After Vientiane, he continued to Hanoi to pay respect to the new leader of Vietnam, the country to which he owed his nowadays fortune as an autocrat, the same country that sheltered and indoctrinated him since 1977 and brought him back to the City of Tonlé Buon Mouk on 7 January 1979.
5) While the weak strongman was on those foreign cities, his kangaroo court has freed a number of critics and/or opposition activists from jail. Those freed activists, fearing that they would be arrested or jailed again have left Srok Khmer to seek asylum in foreign countries. Only the head of the opposition still remain under house arrest in his private residence in the City of Tonlé Buon Mouk.
6) While the weak strongman is struggling on how to meet the conditions set up by the European Union in order for Cambodia to continue to benefit from the favorable tariff, his sycophants have been instructed to send out some trial balloons in the open sky, first in the form of amending certain legal dispositions that the same sycophants adopted before the July 2018 election, and second towards The Cambodia Daily, Voice of America or Radio Free Asia to “return” and operate again in Cambodia; while the ink has not dried yet, those organizations have responded by “shooting” straight at those balloons as practice targets. How can they trust a robber disguised as a Samaritan?
7) Meanwhile the opposition held a world congress in Atlanta to be followed two weeks later by another one in Paris for the purpose of “appointing” an interim leader while the real leader is still under house arrest in his private residence not far from Takhmau. The appointment of an interim leader turned out to be a spark that ignited the internal war between the two factions that formed and animated the opposition. The two leaders of the opposition claimed that they are “one”, but their respective supporters don’t want to hear anything of it.
8) Meantime, the weak strongman and the ex-opposition leader in exile engaged each other through Facebook not only in war of words but also in placing wager on the status of the opposition leader under house arrest.
9) The weak strongman, not to be outdone by the opposition in term of “congress” and the images from Atlanta and Paris, called up the meeting of the 41st Congress of the Central Committee of his party. Mark Twain, once, said: “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.”
10) Last but not least, one of the weak strongman sons has shed his civilian/military clothes as intelligence honcho for a Buddhist saffron robe. Once a monk, always a monk? Saint basil, once, said: “First and foremost, the monk should own nothing in this world, but he should have as his possessions solitude of the body, modesty of bearing, a modulated tone of voice, and a well-ordered manner of speech. He should be without anxiety as to his food and drink, and should eat in silence.”

So, this is the state of affairs in the City of Tonlé Buon Mouk that looks chaotic and messy?

Inside the country, the weak strongman must solve the “outside” EU/EBA equation regarding not only the constitutional and legal status of the opposition leader under house arrest but also with regards to respect of democracy, rule of law and human rights that the weak strongman himself has so far trampled under his feet. The weak strongman played hard ball against democracy and the opposition before the election by using his rule or changing it as he moved along. Through vanity and greed for power, he made the sand box into a quicksand box out of which he must find his way out. When in Brussels and Geneva, he saw with his own eye how the EU is serious about its stand vis-à-vis his autocracy that he imposed upon the Khmer society and people. To believe and blindly trust that China has the magic wand to come and rescue him from his own machination against EU/EBA is an exercise of ignorance of Chinese hidden long-term goal over the land and water of Cambodia.

Why is the weak strongman so stubborn?

Well, it could come from his early age learning under the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge regime where surrender must never be an option:
– he joined Pol Pot, and Pol Pot won in 1975;
– he escaped Pol Pot in 1977 and went to Vietnam and returned to Cambodia as a victorious in 1979;
– he threatened the return to war after he lost the 1993 UNTAC election;
– he orchestrated a kind of coup d’état against his co-premier in 1997;
– he won every election, by hook or by crook;
– sensing a defeat that could be coming in July 2018, he orchestrated the whole machination to win the sham election, and
– he even have a win-win monument built to his glory.

Your students must certainly have read this online information from both VODhotnews and The Cambodia Daily. Since the relationship between the Khmer communists and the Vietnamese communists went as far back as 1946 – quite possibly your students’ great-grandparents or grandparents generations – and still continue to influence the current conduct of the Khmer Rouge and ex-Khmer Rouge that rule the land of the Khmer since 1975, the visit should not be without controversy and your students’ attention and focus should be armed with some background awareness:

Ho Chi Minh (original name: Nguyen Sinh Cung) was the founder and a revolutionary leader of the League for the Independence of Vietnam or the Viet Minh, who led the Viet Minh Independence movement in 1941, and was president of Vietnam democratic republic in 1945.

Since the end of the Vietnam War and the reunification of Vietnam, between 1976 and today, Vietnam has had 7 presidents and 2 Chairmen of the Council of State.

Meanwhile, in 1975 Cambodia was led by Khmer Rouge and genocidal Pol Pot.

In 1977, the weak strongman (original name: Bunal or Nal) left his Khmer Rouge group and fled to Vietnam for protection and reorganization similar to the mold of the Khmer Viet Minh in 1954.

In 1979, he returned to Cambodia with the support of Vietnamese troops and became Cambodia solo prime minister since 1985 until today.

Would the trip to Vietnam under its 9th president who took office in October 2018 look like to pay homage and to recognize the eternal debt the weak strongman has contracted for his power as a subordinate ruler in Cambodia?

Would future history confirm its past?

Here are some historical lexicons that your students might wish to have in their notebooks:

Don’t spill the tea: Warning that the tea being boiled for the master is more important than the life of the oppressed.

Last but not least, let keep this definition in the back of the mind if the weak strongman doesn’t realize his bounded vassalage because of blindness or ignorance:“The definition of a vassal was someone in feudal times who received protection and land from a lord in return for allegiance and performing military and other duties, or someone who is subordinate.“An example of a vassal is a person who was given part of a lord’s land and who pledged himself to that lord.“An example of a vassal is a subordinate or servant.”

You must be wondering why there was no letter sent on 9 November 2018 which was the date of the 65th anniversary of the independence of Cambodia?

The answer is simple: for 3 years in a row, letters were written to you on the 62nd, the 63rd and the 64th independence of Cambodia. Sadly, on the 65th anniversary, nothing has changed; on the contrary, Cambodia is getting worst and worst:
– the weak strongman has murdered democracy,
– he organized a sham election transforming Cambodia into a corrupt one-party state,
– he vassalized Cambodia into a state dependent on China and Vietnam, and
– the free world subjects him and his sycophants to various degrees of sanctions.

Where is then your students’ feeling of celebration, their pride of being a free and independent Khmer when the weak strongman shackles the 3 branches of power to his greed for absolute power and endless self-enrichment?

The French left. The Vietnamese arrived. So do the Chinese.

The lesson that Khmer can learn from the 1953 independence is that if Sihanouk could wrestle Cambodia out of the yoke of French colonialism, other Cambodians also can do the same to free Cambodia from the yoke of autocracy of the ex-Khmer Rouge and his corrupt sycophants that are supported by contemporary foreign hegemons.

This is a story that you may wish to share with your students about the notion of truth and its value, as truth has lately been subject of assault from liars, conspirators theorists and adepts of alternative truth or alternative universe. The story went way back to the pre-christian era.

In Book XI of Jewish Antiquities, Josephus narrated the story of Darius who went to bed, but, after resting a brief part of the night, awoke and being unable to sleep any longer, fell to talking to his three bodyguards. Darius asked his first bodyguard whether wine was the strongest thing, and the second whether kings were, and the third whether women were, or whether truth was the strongest of all. Darius also promised his three bodyguards that whoever should give the truest and most intelligent speech on the subject would be bestowed sumptuous and enormous gifts including the honorific title of “Kinsman.”

When Darius had set these questions for them to examine, he took his rest. Then in the morning he summoned the nobles, satraps and toparchs of Persia and Media, and, taking his seat in the place where he was wont to give judgement, he bode each of the bodyguards give his opinion on the matters in question in the hearing of all.

And the first bodyguard began to speak on the power of wine. When he ceased speaking, the second bodyguard began speaking about the power of the king. When he ceased speaking, the third bodyguard began to discourse on women, and then on truth, saying: “I have now shown how great is the strength of women, but none the less both they and the king are weaker than truth. For although the earth is very great and the heavens high and the sun swift, yet all these move in accordance with the will of God, and, since He is true and just, we must for the same reason believe truth also to be the strongest thing, against which no injustice can prevail. Furthermore, all other things that possess strength are by nature mortal and short-lived, but truth is a thing immortal and eternal. And it gives us, not beauty, that fades with time, nor wealth, of which fortune may rob us, but what is just and lawful, and from this it keeps away injustice and puts it to shame.”

The third bodyguard name is Zorobabelos. When Zorobabelos ended his speech on truth, whereupon the assembly acclaimed him as the best speaker, saying that it was truth alone which had unchanging and unaging strength. And the king directed him to ask for something beyond what he himself had promised, for, he said, he would give it to him for being wise and showing himself more intelligent than the others. “You shall,” he added, “be seated next to me and be called my Kinsman.”

When the king had said this, Zorobabelos reminded him of what he had vowed to do if he obtained the throne: this was to rebuild Jerusalem and construct the temple of God there and restore the vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had taken as spoil to Babylon.

Kacvey, to encourage the discussions you would have with your law school students on probable issue of “reunification of Korea” that has been worldwide dissected/projected/critiqued, you may wish to inject one historical element into their analytical and critical thinking.

The first 3 lines of the Chinese classic and historical novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” (三国演义) read: “Here begins our tale. The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been.” (话说天下大势，分久必合，合久必分.)

In 1945, at the end of the Japanese occupation for 35 years, Korea was divided into North Korea and South Korea through a mutual agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1948, the Republic of Korea was established in South Korea, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in North Korea. Both Korea claimed sovereignty over the Korean peninsula and with the backing of the United States and the Soviet Union, both Korea made war between themselves known as the Korean War from 25 June 1950. The Korean War ended on 27 July 1953 with the signature of an armistice. To this date, North and South Korea remain separate and occupy almost the same territory they had when the war began.

Would the North and South Korean Summit lead to a “unification” in the not-too-distant future? Well, let the world of all tendencies debate and advance their different view, but your students should be aware that “division” and “unification” have always been part of human geographical history since time memorial when men made wars against other men in the name of any ideology that men have created to suit their territorial ambition and power.

In ancient time, how many times Greece was “divided” and “united”, until what it is today?

In ancient Roman empire, how many times was it “divided” and “united” until it becomes today’s Italy?

In 1983, the once “united” Republic of Cyprus was divided de facto into Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Northern Cyprus, separated by a United Nations buffer zone.

In more than 5,000 years of history, how many wars of “division” or “unification” has China gone through?

In the British Isles, how many wars between kingdoms until they become united, and later to be known as the United Kingdom?

And how about the referendum on Scottish Independence from the United Kingdom on 18 September 2014?

In 1776, in North America, 13 states were unified to declare their independence from the British colonial rule and formed the United States.

In tsarist time, there was no Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) that was established in 1922. But after its dissolution in 1991, it becomes Russia again, and the “Soviet Republics” recovered their original status and independence.

In the Balkans, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was “united” in 1867 and “divided” in 1918. Yugoslavia was “united” in 1918 and “divided” in 1992. Czechoslovakia was “united” in 1917 and “divided” in 1993.

After the Second World War, defeated Germany was “divided” in 1949 into West Germany known as Federal Republic of Germany, and East Germany known as Democratic Republic of Germany. After the collapse of Berlin Wall in 1989, West Germany and East Germany were “united” in October 1990.

The once “united-but-geographically-separated” Pakistan was “divided” in 1971 when East Pakistan (also historically known as East Bengal) became independent and took the name of Bangladesh.

The Federation of Malaysia which was formed (“united”) in August 1963 was “divided” in August 1965 after the separation of Singapore.

In October 1961, in Cameroon, once known as “Africa in miniature”, the colonized French Cameroun was “united” with the British Southern Cameroons to form an independent state known as Federal Republic of Cameroon.

In July 2011, South Sudan was separated (“divided”) from Sudan to become the independent Republic of South Sudan.

How about the short-lived United Arab Republics (UAR) “uniting” Egypt and Syria between February 1958 until it became “divided” in September 1961. Also, how about Federation of Arab Republics (FAR) “uniting” Egypt, Libya and Syria between January 1972 until it became “divided” in November 1977?

How about some contemporaneous and repeated threats of “division” in “united” countries such as Québec from Canada, Catalonia from Spain, Biafra from Nigeria?

How about past Cambodia where territories were “divided” and taken by both, the Western and Easter neighbors? How much longer Cambodia can remain in its current borders with continuous massive influx of both Chinese and Vietnamese?

If Korean people decided to “unite” themselves through their common ethnicity, blood line, culture and language, resources and know-how, and mutual understanding and tolerance, nothing can stop them.

Let bear in mind these words of political wisdom from:
Kim Dae Jung, ex-president of South Korea: “Unification is not our present goal. That is a future program.”
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany: “At German unification, we were lucky to get so much help from West Germany. Now, we have the good fortune of being able to help each other in Europe.”
Lee Hyeon-seo, a North Korean defector and writer: “This is a divisive issue, but I really hope for unification. Even though we have been divided for a long time, we are all Koreans, so we should live together in a united Korea.”

On this date of 9 November 2017, let wish Cambodia a Happy 64th Anniversary of Independence!

For the last 2 years, 2016 and 2015, many questions were raised by your students with the purpose to search for some sort of solutions in order to enable Cambodians to carry Cambodia forward and towards a true and real independence. Your students must feel very sad as Independence that politicians have promised to future generations, theirs included, turn out to be pure illusion and smoke. They have learned of Independence from France, but they have also learned that Cambodia has never been independent from:
– Effect of foreign wars and military conflicts: Vietnam War, war under Lon Nol regime, genocidal war under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, war between Khmer factions from 1979 to 1993;
– Endless trivial, personal and vulgar political wars between Khmer political parties since UNTAC’s, in total absence of philosophy, vision and wisdom for the future of the society and country;
– Violent political domination by the ruling party composed of remnants of ex-Khmer Rouge dressed in suits and ties, and riding in super luxurious cars – instead of black pants/shirts, tyre sandals and red kramars – since January 1979;
– Severe political oppression exercised by the ruling party with crushing blows on freedom of expression, press, opinion and congregation, arrest, jailing and trial of opposition figures on trumped charges, creation of bogus laws with the sole objective of annihilating the democratic opposition and the preservation of its political survival against the tidal waves of popular rejection and rebuff of its policies after more than 30 years in power;
– Free and fair elections where democratic voice and political choice of the people is not fully respected and in flagrant violation with the spirit of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements that was the seed of democracy, freedom, respect of human rights, and respect of law for Cambodia when the international community had the goodwill and determination to end the killing of Cambodians after a multi-year and arduous negotiation process both intra-Cambodians and internationally; and
– Autocracy engineered by the same ruling party since 1997, autocracy that is led by one man and one man only through absolute nepotism and corruption. The whole country looks like a dictatorship under the disguise of fake democracy.

Why does one man shackle Cambodia’s democracy and freedom and colonize the country for his personal ambition and greed for power?
Why does one man subject the independence of Cambodian citizenry and institutions to the submission to his hunger for eternal power or as long as he lives?

The answer is simple and straightforward: the man is no longer sure of himself that he can survive the democratic political battle through ballots; he has outlived his era; his ideas and strategies are outmoded and obsolete; he is “passé” that refuses to acknowledge that “tomorrow” will soon reserve a place for him somewhere else. Therefore, he makes the “Independence” of Cambodia into a state of servility and obedience to his autocratic conceit.

Kacvey, your students’ understanding of the current political situation and their firm conviction and belief that “no man can live forever” are the force of action-oriented willpower that drives and propels Cambodia towards a true Independence.

Let take a short break from the dirty and insane politics in the City Tonlé Buon Mouk and look back into the Chinese history during the Song Dynasty (宋代- 960-1279 A.D.)

In the Southern Song (北宋) there was a patriot and a general by the name of Yue Fei (岳飞). Yue Fei was known not only for his military prowess and successes, but also for his high ethical standards. To encourage him, his mother asked him to take off his shirt. She then tattooed four Chinese characters on his back: 尽忠报国 (jing zhong bao guo) “serve the country with the utmost loyalty.” Now able to fulfill both his mother’s wish and his duty to the country, Yue Fei promptly went off to battle. Yue Fei was undefeated in battle and was a national symbol of hope during difficult times.

In 1127, several years before Yue Fei became a general, the Jurchens (Jin 金) invaded northern China, forcing the Song dynasty out of its capital Kaifeng and taking Emperor Huizong 宋徽宗, and Emperor Qinzong 宋钦宗, and hundreds of palace officials prisoners including a minister named Qin Hui 秦桧 and his wife Lady Wang 王氏. This marked the end of the Northern Song dynasty 北宋, and the beginning of the Southern Song dynasty under Emperor Gaozong 宋高宗.

While being prisoner in the Jin court, Qin Hui groveled before Emperor Taizong 金太宗 and succeeded in impressing him with his ability to serve. He got himself appointed to a position in the Jin military staff. Meanwhile, the the Jin Dynasty witnessed with alarm the steady growth of anti-Jin forces in the Southern Song Dynasty and the pro-Song insurgency in the north. Staunchly hawkish generals such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong posed a particular challenge. It was then decided that Qin Hui would be sent back to the south as a mole in the Song government. In 1130 A.D. Qin Hui and his wife were slipped back into Southern Song territory.

In 1138, Gaozong promoted Qin Hui to be Chief Minister. Then Gaozong and Qin Hui made up their mind to reconcile with the Jin Dynasty and put him in charge of deliberations with the Jin. Yue Fei, Han Shizhong 韩世忠, and a large number of officials at court criticized the peace overtures. Aided by his control of the Censorate, Qin Hui purged his enemies and continued negotiations. In 1141 the Jin and Song agreed to a treaty that designated the Yellow River as border between the two states and recognized Gaozong as a “subject” of the Jin. But because there remained opposition to the treaty in both the courts of the Jin and Song, the treaty never came into effect.

Meanwhile, Qin Hui set to work to engineer Yue Fei’s downfall. Qin Hui wrote a memorial which denounced Yue Fei for his arrogance. He invented out of white cloth the story that yue Fei refused to send his army to relieve defenders of Huaxi when they were under Jin attack.

Yue Fei knew that Qin Hui was out to get him, so he volunteered to resign from his post of deputy Military Affairs Commissioner. Emperor Gaozong readily approved his resignation.

The matter did not stop there. One of the top generals, Zhang Jun 张俊 , once Yue Fei’s superior, became jealous of Yue Fei for his feats on the battlefield. Aware of Zhang Jun’s resentment of Yue Fei’s successes, Qin Hui in collusion with Zhang Jun incited subalterns Wang Gui 王贵 and Wang Jun 王俊 in the Yue Army to falsely accuse another subaltern Zhang Xian 张宪 of intending to take control of Xiangyang 襄阳 in order to mount a mutiny to help Yue Fei wrest back his control over the army. They also falsely accused Yue Fei’s son, Yue Yun 岳云, of writing to Zhang Xian to make secret plans for mutiny.

Based on the false testimony of the traitors Wang Gui and Wang Jun, Qin Hui arrested Zhang Xian and put him in the jail of the Court of Judicial Review, where he was tortured. However, Zhang Xian adamantly refused to confess to the fabricated crime. Soon after, Qin Hui requested Emperor Gaozong to order the arrest of Yue Fei and Yue Yun and put them on trial before the Court of Judicial Review.

When Qin Hui’s people arrived to arrest him, Yue Fei said with a smile: “上有天，下有地，会证明我是无罪的。 Heaven and Earth be my witness! I will be vindicated and cleared.”

When Yue Fei and Yue Yun were taken to the Court of Judicial Review, they found a blooded, almost unrecognizable Zhang Xian covered with bruises and injuries sustained during his torture. The sight filled Yue fei with sadness and anger.

The trial judge was Moqi Xie, a Qin Hui political ally. He placed the false testimony of Wang Gui and Wang Jun before Yue Fei and asked in a stern voice: “Hasn’t the government been good to you? Why are you planning a mutiny?”

Yue Fei replied: “上有天， 下有地， 会证明我是无罪的。I have done nothing against the government. You are in charge of law and justice. You must not use trumped-up charges to frame officials loyal to the government and country.”

Other officials present also echoed Moqi Xie, insisting that Yue Fei had seditious intentions. Yue Fei understood the futility of arguing with these partisans of Qin Hui’s clique. He said with a deep sigh: “我今天落在奸贼的手里，虽然有一片忠心，也没法申诉了。I’ve fallen into the hands of a bunch of traitorous thugs. There is no point in trying to prove to you my loyalty and patriotism.”

Qin Hui had assigned Vice Censor-in-Chief He Zhu 何铸 to try Yue Fei. When he began questioning Yue Fei, Yue Fei pulled up his shirt without uttering a word and showed He Zhu his bare back. What greeted He Zhu’s eyes were the four deeply tattooed characters: “尽忠报国– Serve the country with the utmost loyalty.” He Zhu was so shaken that he could not go on with the inquiry. He remanded Yue Fei to his cell. After reviewing some more material related to the case, he could find no evidence to support the allegation of Yue Fei’s seditious intent. He truthfully reported his conclusion to Qin Hui.

Sensing He Zhu’s sympathy for Yue Fei, Qin Hui took him off the case and instructed Moqi Xie to continue fabricating charges against Yue Fei. Moqi Xie insisted that Yue Fei had written to Zhang Xian to make plans for a mutiny. Unable to provide any material evidence, they alleged Zhang Xian had destroyed the letters.

Moqi Xie put the three defendants through more torture, but Yue Fei would not give them the satisfaction of a confession. One day, when Moqi Xie tried to force Yue Fei to compose a confession, Yue Fei wrote down these eight characters: “天日眧眧，天日眧眧 – Heaven be my witness, heaven be my witness.”

After dragging on for two months, the trial still had not produced any conclusion. Everyone in government knew Yue Fei had been framed. However, some who had the courage to petition the Emperor to clear Yue Fei’s name themselves became victims of Qin Hui’s reprisals.

The venerated Han Shizhong went to see Qin Hui, and demanded evidence of Yue Fei’s alleged plans for a mutiny. Qin Hui said in an arrogant and cavalier manner: “岳飞和张宪的信， 虽然没有证据， 但是这件事莫须有。 Although there is no evidence of Yue Fei’s writing to Zhang Xian, one can make a plausible case.”

One day after work, Qin Hui was drinking with his wife Wang by a window. Wang noticed him fiddling with an orange, absent-mindedly gouging the peel with his fingernail. Wang, who was even more ruthless than Qin Hui, understood that Qin Hui was still of two minds about whether to kill Yue Fei immediately. Wang said with a sinister snort: “你这老头儿，好没有决断，要知道缚虎容易放虎难啊！You indecisive coot! It’s easier to tie a tiger down than to set it free.”

Wang’s warning helped make up Qin Hui’s mind. He immediately wrote a note which was secretly delivered to the prison. In a night in January 1142 A.D. the patriotic national hero Yue Fei was murdered. He was only 39. Yue Yun and Zhang Xian suffered the same fate that night.

After Yue Fei’s murder, a prison warden in Lin’an 临安 (today’s Hangzhou 杭州) named Kui Shun 隗顺 secretly buried his remains. Yue Fei’s name was cleared only after the death of Emperor Gaozong, and his remains were moved to Qixia Peak 栖霞岭 for proper burial. A Yue Fei temple was added later east of his tomb. A statue of Yue Fei clad in battle gear now sits in the great hall of the Yue Temple 岳庙. Above the statue hangs an awe-inspiring board inscribed with four characters in Yue Fei’s handwriting: “还我河山 – Give back my country.” Opposite the tomb are four cast-iron kneeling figures with their hands tied behind their backs. They are the despised and hated Qin Hui, his wife Wang, Moqi Xie and Zhang Jun that for centuries ordinary Chinese have visited specifically to spit on. This arrangement is designed to reflect popular admiration for a national hero and revulsion for selfish and corrupted officials and traitors.

For ease and quick reference that your students and you might need in the future, this letter contains links that speak volume about difference when words were spoken and when the speakers change their attitude. Is this hypocrisy in Khmer politics, or are Khmer politicians truly hypocritical?